MEMPHIS — To the 400-plus NBA players not on the Memphis Grizzlies, Tony Allen is a pest and a tyrant, the kind of guy you wish would eat a bad burger after morning shoot-around and have to sit out that night's game every time he's in town.

To the news media, and now to the Oklahomans who were hit so hard by a tornado Monday, he's a one-of-a-kind gem who you can't help but appreciate over time. He's no saint, of course — ask O.J. Mayo. But Thursday's practice at the FedEx Forum was the latest example of why — recent acting job notwithstanding — Allen is one of the most authentic players in the game today.

The Grizzlies guard was his candid and accommodating self, discussing everything from his decision to match donations made at Game 3 and 4 of the Western Conference Finals this week in Memphis to the infamous play on Tuesday. That's the one in which he did his best Denzel Washington impression after San Antonio's Manu Ginobili's flagrant foul that he deemed "dirty" in the Grizzlies' loss that put them in a 2-0 Western Conference finals hole.

VIDEO: Watch Allen draw flagrant foul on Ginobili

The nine-year veteran, who is the poster boy for the Grizzlies' "Grit and Grind" pitch, is always giving of his time to the news media, and now Allen — who played at Oklahoma State for two seasons before being taken 25th overall by the Boston Celtics in 2004 — is giving back to the people who supported him so long ago.

He even challenged reporters to join the cause, saying he'd match any donations put forth to help with the immense rebuilding effort. Allen isn't alone here, as Oklahoma City star Kevin Durant donated $1 million and the NBA teamed with the National Basketball Players Association to donate another $1 million.

"It's devastating, and I encourage you as well to try to do something big," he said as he patted the chest of Memphis Commercial Appeal columnist Geoff Calkins. "Like I said, my heart was telling me to do it, and that's what I'm doing. I encourage you to do the same thing. Whatever you can donate, I'm going to match it.

"It's crazy, man. When I was in college, I used to always ignore those tornado warnings and finish playing PlayStation or whatever I was doing. And now it's like, fast forward 12, 13 years later, and it's like, 'I should've been more cautious at the time.' And now I'm praying for those families that were affected. ... Looking at CNN, always brings a tear to my eye just watching it and knowing that I was in that state. It's sad."

Allen, who writhed in perceived pain late in the fourth quarter of Tuesday's loss when it appeared his head hit the AT&T Center floor after Ginobili pulled him down, dodged the topic of whether he would be heading for Hollywood to start the acting career once the offseason starts. But he wasn't about to feel bad for his rare faux pas, instead focusing on the foul that the officials deemed flagrant regardless of his reaction.

"Just look at the play; God forbid if I got hurt," Allen said. "Say I got hurt, then how y'all would've been looking at Manu Ginobili? I've been injured before, so say I tore my ACL again. How y'all would've been looking at Manu Ginobili? Like that was a dirty play, right?

"You can't grab nobody in the air. You can't grab nobody in the air…He didn't have enough time to make a play for the ball, because he knew he had turned it over, and I knew I was fitting to lay it in, so he grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the air man. He pulled me out of the air — period, point blank. He pulled me out of the air. Can you do that in basketball? Okay, then."

Game 3 in Memphis: Grizzlies vs. Spurs -- Marc Gasol (33) backs down Tiago Splitter during the first half. Despite a big game from Gasol, Memphis shot 39.2% from the field and 55.6% from the free-throw line.
Spruce Derden, USA TODAY Sports

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And just in case anyone — myself included — wondered if the Grizzlies were starting to lose some of that belief that has buoyed them all season long, Allen had plenty to say on that front too. They came back from an 0-2 deficit in the first round against the Clippers, and fully intend on doing it again.

"Why wouldn't we believe?" he asked after the question was posed. "We've got towels that say, 'Memphis Believe.' We believe."

"Me personally, I haven't given up," he said. "And the way guys were acting today in practice, it looked to me that they're not giving up neither. Everybody still believes, and everybody wants to advance. Like I said, we came into this series knowing that we were four games away from the Finals, and we want to take advantage of that."